SUPERMAX

YES INDEED

UTOPIA GHOSTOWN POP. ZERO

LLANO DEL RIO



While reading about remote deserted communities in California I noticed a trend which may explain something about the way out vibe on the west coast. So many ghost towns it seems are abandoned social living projects; that essentially failed...and in that way maybe they were a success. California's history is tied to a dream - some individual with a (usually twisted) vision of what should / could be: The unknown lands, War, Power, Gold, Business, Water, Borders, Industrial Light & Magic Show Biz and Shiny Things.

Two Ghost Towns that really have stood out - California City and Llano Del Rio.

California City
To quote BLDGBLOG The history of the town itself is of a failed Californian utopia—in fact, incredibly, if completed, it was intended to rival Los Angeles. From the city's Wikipedia entry:

California City had its origins in 1958 when real estate developer and sociology professor Nat Mendelsohn purchased 80,000 acres (320 km2) of Mojave Desert land with the aim of master-planning California's next great city. He designed his model city, which he hoped would one day rival Los Angeles in size, around a Central Park with a 26-acre (11 ha) artificial lake. Growth did not happen anywhere close to what he expected. To this day a vast grid of crumbling paved roads, scarring vast stretches of the Mojave desert, intended to lay out residential blocks, extends well beyond the developed area of the city. A single look at satellite photos shows the extent of the scarred desert and how it stakes its claim to being California's 3rd largest geographic city, 34th largest in the US. California City was incorporated in 1965.

Llano Del Rio
Llano Del Rio was started as a socialist project in 1913 and which eventually dried up like those bricks that remain in their desert surroundings; human friction and fights over water. This heavy desert region is now home to a State Park known as the Devil's Punchbowl.




LLANO DEL RIO

NON VIOLENCE

A Google search of the terms "savage severe" yields this quote:

"There is a violent, vicious, brutal, and severe savage, living wild in each of us, beyond the control of the average person..."

Hmmmmm.....


I was looking forward to this event and glad to say it was worth the weight. Dark Disco with RUNAWAY JACQUES RENAULT & NITE DOG under the Mercer Hotel thru the wine cellar. Got my dance on....

Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations run this weekend. Im hoping ?uestlove brings something interesting to the table. I personally have recorded 3 tribute sets over the years and know there's alot of powerful music that can be joined in the spirit of joy, peace, struggle and determination.

On that note, OKAY player has a nice Teddy P set - a dope hip-hop sample source ride.

FAMILY

While in LA last weekend I was trying to spend a few free hours in a productive hardcore window-shopping spree. I almost forgot to note the magical place I found by accident. I had planned to visit Turntable Lab LA and get a far-out, West Coast perspective on the music style jugger but, BUGGER!...the shop was closed for over an hour due to some business-tech issue. Instead I wandered in the Fairfax zone and checked out some other spots: a cool vintage store, an elderly persons vintage store, RCVA, a dark pizza joint that had 4 coolers of beers and beverages under padlock, and an artist bookstore called FAMILY.
Funny, like TTL and the 'Za spot they were having an "anti bad day" with a colorful non-storefront sign and no business cards. You don't need that stuff at this place. Lots of rare, one off, unique hard and soft cover books here. A few records and T-shirts. If there was seating in the store it would be all over. They even hold readings and events in their gallery.

This experience was kind of like when I went to a theater to see The Blair Witch Project, which had sold out. Instead I, like many others, had discovered Run Lola Run.

POP

I've been plagued with dreams of living in the desert. It is so quiet and still - a monument to nothing. I also love the idea of pre-fab dwellings or places to live that are made from the earth. I know these are two ends of the spectrum; man-made vs. nature but there are places between these poles that make so much sense (and no sense what so ever). The time is now; low cost, low impact, sustaining, fun, living

POP UP CITY covers it best Ive seen in a while...

How can I do it?

While on assignment in LA: